1913 Western Conference football season

1913 Western Conference football season
Sport	Football
Teams	9
Champion	Chicago
Football seasons
←  1912 1914  →

1913 Western Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Chicago $	7	–	0	–	0			7	–	0	–	0
Iowa	2	–	1	–	0			5	–	2	–	0
Minnesota	2	–	1	–	0			5	–	2	–	0
Purdue	2	–	1	–	2			4	–	1	–	2
Illinois	2	–	2	–	1			4	–	2	–	1
Wisconsin	1	–	2	–	1			3	–	3	–	1
Ohio State	1	–	2	–	0			4	–	2	–	1
Indiana	2	–	4	–	0			3	–	4	–	0
Northwestern	0	–	6	–	0			1	–	6	–	0
$ – Conference champion

The 1913 Western Conference football season was the eighteenth season of college football played by the member schools of the Western Conference (later known as the Big Ten Conference) and was a part of the 1913 college football season. This was Ohio State's first year as members of the conference.

Season overview

The Chicago Maroons won the Western title with a perfect 7-0 record, of which all seven victories were conference wins. Chicago was also retroactively named as the 1913 national champion by the Billingsley Report and as a co-national champion by Parke H. Davis. ^[1]

Iowa and Minnesota finished behind Chicago with 5-2 records and both went 2-1 in Western play. Purdue fell right behind with a 4-1-2 record, (2-1-2).

Illinois ended their season at 4-2-1 (2-2-1). Wisconsin wound up 3-3-1 (1-2-1) while newcomer Ohio State came in at 4-2-1 (1-2).

Indiana finished at 3-4 (2-4) while Northwestern followed at 1-6, with all six losses coming at the hands of Western rivals.

Chicago

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
October 4	Indiana	Marshall Field Chicago, IL	W 21–7	10,000	[2]
October 18	Iowa	Marshall Field Chicago, IL	W 23–6		[3]
October 25	Purdue	Marshall Field Chicago, IL (rivalry)	W 6–0	18,000	[4]
November 1	Illinois	Marshall Field Chicago, IL	W 28–7
November 8	at Northwestern	Northwestern Field Evanston, IL	W 14–0
November 15	at Minnesota	Northrop Field Minneapolis, MN	W 13–7	21,000
November 22	Wisconsin	Marshall Field Chicago, IL	W 19–0

Iowa

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Source
October 4	Iowa State Teachers *	Iowa Field Iowa City, IA	W 45–3
October 6	Cornell (IA) *	Iowa Field Iowa City, IA	W 76–0
October 18	at Chicago	Stagg Field Chicago, IL	L 6–23	[5]
October 25	at Northwestern	Northwestern Field Evanston, IL	W 78–6
November 8	Indiana	Iowa Field Iowa City, IA	W 60–0
November 15	Iowa State *	Iowa Field Iowa City, IA (rivalry)	W 45–7
November 22	at Nebraska *	Nebraska Field Lincoln, NE (rivalry)	L 0–12
*Non-conference game Homecoming

Minnesota

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance
September 27	South Dakota *	Northrop Field Minneapolis, MN	W 14–0	7,000
October 4	Iowa State *	Northrop Field Minneapolis, MN	W 25–0	3,000
October 18	at Nebraska *	Nebraska Field Lincoln, NE (rivalry)	L 0–7	9,000
October 25	North Dakota *	Northrop Field Minneapolis, MN	W 30–0	2,500
November 1	at Wisconsin	Randall Field Madison, WI (rivalry)	W 21–3	11,000
November 15	Chicago	Northrop Field Minneapolis, MN	L 7–13	21,000
November 22	at Illinois	Illinois Field Champaign, IL	W 19–9	3,500
*Non-conference game

Purdue

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
October 4	Wabash *	Stuart Field West Lafayette, IN	W 26–0
October 11	at Northwestern	Northwestern Field Evanston, IL	W 34–0
October 18	Wisconsin	Stuart Field West Lafayette, IN	T 7–7
October 25	at Chicago	Stagg Field Chicago, IL (rivalry)	L 0–6	18,000	[6]
November 8	Rose Polytechnic *	Stuart Field West Lafayette, IN	W 62–0
November 15	at Illinois	Illinois Field Champaign, IL (rivalry)	T 0–0
November 22	at Indiana	Jordan Field Bloomington, IN (Old Oaken Bucket)	W 42–7		[7] [8]
*Non-conference game

^[9]

Illinois

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
October 4	Kentucky *	Illinois Field Champaign, IL	W 21–0		[10]
October 11	Missouri *	Illinois Field Champaign, IL (rivalry)	W 24–7
October 18	Northwestern	Illinois Field Champaign, IL	W 37–0		[11]
October 25	at Indiana	Washington Park Indianapolis, IN (rivalry)	W 10–0	8,500	[12]
November 1	at Chicago	Stagg Field Chicago, IL	L 7–28	20,000	[13]
November 15	Purdue	Illinois Field Champaign, IL (rivalry)	T 0–0	7,000	[14]
November 22	Minnesota	Illinois Field Champaign, IL	L 9–19	3,500	[15]
*Non-conference game Homecoming

Wisconsin

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
October 4	Lawrence *	Randall Field Madison, WI	W 58–7
October 11	Marquette *	Randall Field Madison, WI	W 13–0
October 18	at Purdue	Stuart Field West Lafayette, IN	T 7–7
October 25	Michigan Agricultural *	Randall Field Madison, WI	L 7–12		[16]
November 1	Minnesota	Randall Field Madison, WI (rivalry)	L 3–21	11,000
November 8	Ohio State	Randall Field Madison, WI	W 12–0
November 22	at Chicago	Stagg Field Chicago, IL	L 0–19
*Non-conference game Homecoming

Ohio State

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
October 4	Ohio Wesleyan*	Ohio Field Columbus, OH	W 58–0	3,500	[17]
October 11	Western Reserve*	Ohio Field Columbus, OH	W 14–8
October 18	Oberlin*	Ohio Field Columbus, OH	T 0–0
November 1	Indiana	Ohio Field Columbus, OH	L 6–7
November 8	at Wisconsin	Randall Field Madison, WI	L 0–12
November 15	Case*	Ohio Field Columbus, OH	W 18–0		[18]
November 22	Northwestern	Ohio Field Columbus, OH	W 58–0		[19]

Indiana

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 27	DePauw *	Jordan Field Bloomington, IN	W 48–3
October 4	at Chicago	Stagg Field Chicago, IL	L 7–21	10,000	[20]
October 25	vs. Illinois	Washington Park Indianapolis, IN (rivalry)	L 0–10	8,500	[21]
November 1	at Ohio State	Ohio Field Columbus, OH	W 7–6
November 8	at Iowa	Iowa Field Iowa City, IA	L 0–60
November 15	at Northwestern	Northwestern Field Evanston, IL	W 21–20		[22] [23]
November 22	Purdue	Jordan Field Bloomington, IN (rivalry)	L 7–42		[24] [25]
*Non-conference game

^{[26] [27] [28]}

Northwestern

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
October 4	Lake Forest *	Northwestern Field Evanston, IL	W 10–0
October 11	Purdue	Northwestern Field Evanston, IL	L 0–34
October 18	at Illinois	Illinois Field Champaign, IL (rivalry)	L 0–37
October 25	Iowa	Northwestern Field Evanston, IL	L 6–78
November 8	Chicago	Northwestern Field Evanston, IL	L 0–14
November 15	Indiana	Northwestern Field Evanston, IL	L 20–21		[29] [30]
November 22	at Ohio State	Ohio Field Columbus, OH	L 0–58
*Non-conference game

Bowl games

No Western Conference schools participated in any bowl games during the 1913 season.

All-American honors

• Bob Butler, Tackle, Wisconsin (WC–2; HW-1; MFP-1; SBH-1; TT-2)
• Huntington, End, Chicago (INS-2)
• Paul Des Jardien , Center, Chicago (College Football Hall of Fame) (WC–1; HW-1; INS-1; TT-2)
• Ray Keeler , Guard, Wisconsin (INS-1; MFP-2)
• Nelson Norgren, Halfback, Chicago (WC–3; INS-2; MFP-2; FY-1)
• Elmer Oliphant, Halfback, Purdue (College Football Hall of Fame) (TT-2)
• Paul Russell, Quarterback, Chicago (HW-1; INS-2)
• Lorin Solon, End, Minnesota (WC–3; INS-2; MFP-1; FY-1)

Key

NCAA recognized selectors for 1913

• WC = Collier's Weekly as selected by Walter Camp ^[31]
• INS = Frank G. Menke, sporting editor of the International News Service ^[32]

Other selectors

• HW = Harper's Weekly , as selected by football critic Herman Reed ^[33]
• MFP = Milwaukee Free Press ^[34]
• FY = Fielding H. Yost, head coach at the University of Michigan ^[35]
• PHD = Parke H. Davis, Princeton's representative on the football rules committee, in the New York Herald ^{[36] [37]}
• TT = Tom Thorp, former captain of Columbia football team and head football coach at Fordham University ^{[37] [38]}
• SBH = S. B. Hunt in the Newark Sunday Call ^[37]
• TET = Trenton Evening-Times , selected by a "well known gridiron critic whose name is withheld by special request" ^[39]

Bold = Consensus All-American ^[40]

• 1 – First-team selection
• 2 – Second-team selection
• 3 – Third-team selection

All-Western selections

Main article: 1913 All-Western college football team

Ends

• Lorin Solon , Minnesota (CDN-1, CON, CRH, CT, ECP-1, IO-2, WE-1)
• Clark Shaughnessy, Minnesota (CDN-2 [fullback], CRH, ECP-1 [guard]) (CFHOF)
• Norman K. Wilson, Illinois (ECP-2)
• Earl Huntington, Chicago (CDN-2, WE-2)
• Harold Ofstie, Wisconsin (CDN-2, IO-1)
• Harold Pogue, Illinois (IO-2)

Tackles

• Bob Butler , Wisconsin (CDN-1, CON, CRH, CT, ECP-1, IO-1, WE-1)
• Archie Kirk, Iowa (ECP-2, IO-2)
• Harold Ernest Goettler, Chicago (CDN-2)

Guards

• Ray Keeler, Wisconsin (CDN-2, CON, CRH, ECP-2, IO-1, WE-2) [CAA]
• Harris, Chicago (CDN-1, ECP-2, IO-2)
• Boles Rosenthal, Minnesota (IO-1)
• H. B. Routh, Purdue (IO-2)

Centers

• Paul Des Jardien , Chicago (CDN-1, CON, CRH, CT, ECP-1, IO-1, WE-1) [CAA, CFHOF]
• C. E. Glossop, Purdue (CDN-2, ECP-2)

Quarterbacks

• Pete Russell, Chicago (ECP-1, WE-2)
• Samuel Gross, Iowa (CDN-2)
• Wilbur Hightower, Northwestern (IO-2)

Halfbacks

• Nelson Norgren , Chicago (CDN-1, CON, CRH, CT, ECP-1, IO-1, WE-1)
• William McAlmon, Minnesota (ECP-2)
• Gray, Chicago (CDN-2, ECP-2)
• Elmer Oliphant, Purdue (IO-2) (CFHOF)

References

1. 2020 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (PDF). Indianapolis: The National Collegiate Athletic Association. July 2020. pp. 112–114. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
2. Le Count Lovellette (October 5, 1913). "Maroons Beat Indiana, 21 to 7, in Opening Game". The Inter Ocean. p. Sports 1 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Maroons Victors After Hard Fight With Iowa, 23 to 6". Chicago Tribune. October 19, 1913. p. III-1 – via Newspapers.com.
4. R.W. Lardner (October 26, 1913). "Kicks by Russell Down Purdue, 6-0, Before Big Crowd". Chicago Tribune. p. III-1 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Maroons Victors After Hard Fight With Iowa, 23 to 6". Chicago Tribune. October 19, 1913. p. III-1 – via Newspapers.com.
6. R.W. Lardner (October 26, 1913). "Kicks by Russell Down Purdue, 6-0, Before Big Crowd". Chicago Tribune. p. III-1 – via Newspapers.com.
7. Goss, Ralston (November 23, 1913). "Purdue Team Slaughters State Rivals in annual Battle at Bloomington". The Indianapolis Sunday Star . Indianapolis, Indiana. p. 45. Retrieved December 9, 2021– via Newspapers.com .
8. Goss, Ralston (November 23, 1913). "Purdue Team Slaughters Rivals (continued)". The Indianapolis Sunday Star . Indianapolis, Indiana. p. 46. Retrieved December 9, 2021– via Newspapers.com .
9. "2022 Purdue Football Record Book" (PDF). Purdue University Athletics. p. 81. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
10. "Zuppke's eleven in victory; Illini defeat Kentucky, 21–0, in first game of year". Chicago Tribune. October 5, 1913. Retrieved May 18, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
11. "Illinois Swamps Purple Team, 37-0". The Inter Ocean. October 19, 1913. p. 25 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Outplayed, Indiana Loses to Illinois by 10-to-0 Score". The Indianapolis Star. October 26, 1913. p. Sports 1–2 – via Newspapers.com.
13. Walter Eckersall (November 2, 1913). "Maroon Machine Topples Illinois In Last Half, 28-7". Chicago Tribune. p. III-1 – via Newspapers.com.
14. "Illinois Holds Purdue To a Tie". Chicago Tribune. November 16, 1913. p. III-2 – via Newspapers.com.
15. "Gophers' Passes Beat Illini, 19-9". Chicago Tribune. November 23, 1913. p. III-2 – via Newspapers.com.
16. W.R. Replinger (October 26, 1913). "Clever M.A.C. Team Is Winner Over Wisconsin". Wisconsin State Journal. pp. 1, 7 – via Newspapers.com.
17. "Ohio Wesleyan Swamped By State, Which Piles Biggest Score In History". The Cleveland Leader . Cleveland, Ohio. October 5, 1913. p. 2, sport section. Retrieved March 13, 2025– via Newspapers.com .
18. "Saturday's Games". The Evening times. November 17, 1913. p. 8. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
19. "Football Results". Topeka, Kansas: The Topeka state journal. November 24, 1913. p. 3. Retrieved November 21, 2024– via Chronicling America.
20. Le Count Lovellette (October 5, 1913). "Maroons Beat Indiana, 21 to 7, in Opening Game". The Inter Ocean. p. Sports 1 – via Newspapers.com.
21. "Outplayed, Indiana Loses to Illinois by 10-to-0 Score". The Indianapolis Star. October 26, 1913. p. Sports 1–2 – via Newspapers.com.
22. "Football Games Today". Chicago, Illinois: The day book. November 15, 1913. p. 27. Retrieved November 21, 2024– via Chronicling America.
23. "Northwestern Outplayed Indiana". Chicago, Illinois: The day book. November 17, 1913. p. 9. Retrieved November 21, 2024– via Chronicling America.
24. Goss, Ralston (November 23, 1913). "Purdue Team Slaughters State Rivals in annual Battle at Bloomington". The Indianapolis Sunday Star . Indianapolis, Indiana. p. 45. Retrieved December 9, 2021– via Newspapers.com .
25. Goss, Ralston (November 23, 1913). "Purdue Team Slaughters Rivals (continued)". The Indianapolis Sunday Star . Indianapolis, Indiana. p. 46. Retrieved December 9, 2021– via Newspapers.com .
26. "1913 Indiana Hoosiers Schedule and Results". College Football @ Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference . Retrieved December 29, 2023.
27. "1913 Football Schedule". Indiana University . Retrieved December 29, 2023.
28. "Indiana Football 2023 Record Book" (PDF). Indiana University. p. 12. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
29. "Football Games Today". Chicago, Illinois: The day book. November 15, 1913. p. 27. Retrieved November 21, 2024– via Chronicling America.
30. "Northwestern Outplayed Indiana". Chicago, Illinois: The day book. November 17, 1913. p. 9. Retrieved November 21, 2024– via Chronicling America.
31. "Camp Picks All-American Eleven: 2 Western Men on All-America Football Team". The Indianapolis Star. December 14, 1913.
32. "Menke Picks His All-American Team: Harvard Champion Team Gets Only Three Places". Naugatuck Daily News. December 3, 1913.
33. "Butler of Wisconsin on All-American". Racine Journal-News. December 24, 1913.
34. "Badger Tackle Among Stars: Butler, Wisconsin's Great Lineman, Placed on All-American Team". Wisconsin State Journal. December 2, 1913.
35. "Yost Picks His All-Star Team". Logansport Journal-Tribune. December 3, 1913.
36. "Bob McWhorter Is Picked on All-American Eleven". Atlanta Constitution. December 9, 1913.
37. Spalding's Official Football Guide. 1914. p. 21.
38. "Tom Thorp Picks Team From Cream of Football World". The Lima Daily News. December 3, 1913.
39. "Times' All-American Eleven". Trenton Evening Times. December 4, 1913.